Theater Board Gets No News Out of Meeting

By Gary Gray, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

Feb. 4–Construction has not started on West Virginia Public Theatre’s new home. And though board members say they’ve not seen final design plans or projected costs, they remain hopeful that shovels will hit dirt on the riverfront project sometime soon. WVPT’s board meeting Thursday did not produce any new information, said Neil Bucklew, board member and former WVU president. "We have nothing new on the facility itself," he said Friday. "We continue to be optimistic. But the question remains: When can we move in?" What began in 2002 as a planned 66,000-square-foot theater — the project’s original big-ticket item –has evolved into a theater inside an exhibition hall connected to the Waterfront Place Hotel. The hotel is owned by Platinum Properties, the same company developing the theater, river center and infrastructure funded mainly by a $13.9 million state grant. Platinum redesigned the theater project last year, citing a reduction in projected theater revenues and increased construction costs. The completion date for the theater is May 31, 2008, according to Caren Wilcher, Economic Development Authority associate director. "It’s still not clear if we’ll have the corporate boxes as previously planned," Bucklew said. "But we have been assured that we’ll have some type of ‘specialized seating.’" Tom Rogers, WVPT board president, said Friday he could not add to what Bucklew knew about construction of the theater. On Jan. 16, Rogers announced to Morgantown City Council that the theater had replaced $400,000 in city funds meant to help with construction but spent instead on operations. Those funds came from an anonymous person who "stepped forward and established an escrow account." When asked if he could reveal the name of the person, Rogers answered: "You know what the word ‘anonymous’ means?" According to the WVPT Web site, "This multi-purpose building will also be used for large conferences, trade shows, auto shows and several other events that presently the Waterfront Place Hotel cannot hold."

The goal is to open WVPT’s 2008 summer season in its new home, according to the Web site.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.

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